


Time to Heal

by SnowingInTheBlueMoon



Series: Banana Fish Coffee Shop AU [1]
Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending, Healing, I'll add new tags during the story, M/M, Mentions of past child abuse, lots of comfort, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2019-09-30 04:33:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17217056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowingInTheBlueMoon/pseuds/SnowingInTheBlueMoon
Summary: Ash took a deep breath.So, that was the begging of his new life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoy this fanfic! I'll try to post at least two chapter a month, but... please, be patient with me, I've been suffering from a really annoying creative block and I really hope starting to post this fic help me to get out of it. 
> 
> P.S.: English isn't my first language, so you can expect some mistakes.
> 
> P.S. 2: This fic is the "origin" of my one-shot Taking Care.

“Is this city even on the map?”, Ash couldn’t help but ask after what seemed like long hours looking at the same empty landscape; dirt road and wild grass was all he could see passing by the window of the car, except for one lost cow or another.

Ash's entire life had happened among the skyscrapers of New York, and he had never imagined that it would ever change - not until a month ago. It wasn’t like he had anything left in the Big Apple; anything but bad memories and a past he'd like to erase from his mind. Even so, New York had been his whole world for seventeen years, and the prospect of being confined to a small town in the middle of nowhere made him feel a sort of reverse claustrophobia; the ridiculously high and imposing buildings of Manhattan added to the sea of people that flowed daily through the lively streets of his home island made him feel grounded to something solid and real. Without that to tie him to the world, the boy was afraid to float away and get lost forever in the immensity of the endless sky. 

“Don’t be silly, kiddo! It’s _obvious_ that Greenriver is on the map!”, Max laughed for a moment, but soon he seemed not to be so sure about that. “I mean… It _must_ be there.” 

Ash looked at the man next to him with a discreet side glance; he still didn’t know what to think about Max Glenreed. The boy had seen him only twice in his life, and now he was going to live with the man’s family, which he knew almost nothing about. Max seemed to be a little awkward and a bit distracted, as if he always have too much in his mind to think about, but he was kind enough to welcome the stepson of his deceased younger sister into his house - maybe being kindhearted and compassionate would be part of their DNA. Ash felt a pang in his chest at the thought, like a cold needle piercing his heart.

_No_ , the boy refused to let those memories emerge to the surface of his mind, pushing them back to the bottom of the hole where he had tried to chain them and hide them from his feelings. _Not here, not now_ , he begged to his own mind, stirring nervously on the hem of his black sports wristbands.

To Ash, having to deal with _those_ feelings was like having a giant snake wrapped around his body, paralyzing him and choking him, while it piercing his skin with its fangs, letting its poison penetrate his veins, burning the life that there was within him until it turned everything into ashes. 

**

Ash must have dozed off, because when he opened his eyes again, the empty landscape that had accompanied him for the last few hours had finally been replaced by some low builds and a few dozen human beings, strolling around, enjoying the sunny day. They had finally arrived at Greenriver city, and the setting was as disappointing as the New Yorker boy had imagined; Ash felt more as if he was in a movie set or a "boring small city" theme park than in a real city. He had the weird feeling that if he looked behind the buildings he would find out that they were no more than false facades made of wood and cardboard.

Deep in his heart, the boy knew he should be grateful for start a new life in a place as quiet as that one, away from all the hecticness and chaos of his hometown. After everything he had passed through in the last years, Ash felt he should crave some peace and security, but it seemed so far away from the reality he was used to that it made him feel uncomfortable, as if something essential was missing. It was as if he had left the chaos behind, but the chaos had not left _him_. 

In a few minutes, after crossing a few streets through the residential neighborhood, Max's car finally parked in front of a house painted with a so faded blue that it could be mistaken by white for a less attentive person. The Glenreed family house wasn’t the biggest nor the smallest house on that street; it seemed to be the perfect size to comfortably accommodate a family of three on its two floors and little more than half a dozen modestly sized rooms. Ash couldn’t help but wonder if he would be able to fit in there, if his presence there wouldn’t just disturb the pacific life of that family’s members.

“Be welcomed to your new home, Ash!”, Max's words brought the boy back from his thoughts only to leave him lost in front of its kindness, for the strangeness of having such warm words being addressed to him - even more in a so sincerely and genuinely way – as well as for him didn’t know how to respond to them. Would one _thank you_ be enough? Ash couldn’t tell, but since nothing better came to his mind, it was what he answered in an awkward murmur. 

Since he didn’t have many belongs, getting Ash’s luggage out of the car didn’t take more than a half minute. Everything that was really important to the boy fitted into his old shabby backpack; the other suitcase he had brought with him had just a few clothes and things of no value from his old house inside it, things that Max had practically forced him to bring with him - the man had insisted that if he didn’t do it, he would regret it one day. Ash just gave up trying to argue, but he insisted on not touching that suitcase; he had plans to find a good hiding place for that thing and keep it out of his sight.

Max called for his wife as he passed through the door, pushing Ash's suitcase into the house, not bothering to look back. Ash felt grateful for that, for having no one to witness his moment of hesitation in taking the first step into the house that would be his home for only-God-knows how long. The boy allowed himself to take a deep breath before crossing the front door. 

Ash had about half a second to let his eyes wander through the interior of the first floor before the figure of a tall woman with long blond hair tied in a messy ponytail came up from the back of the house, catching his attention.

“Hello, Ash!”, the woman smiled friendly, approaching to the newcomers. She wore a slightly dirty gardening apron with a pair of gloves hanging from the front pocket, as if she had begun to work with the land just before they appeared and hindered her in her task. “I’m Jessica, Max’s wife. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”, she made a small movement to stretch her hand out to greet Ash, but she stopped herself in the middle of the gesture, looking a little embarrassed. Max must have warned her about his discomfort at being touched. “Please, make yourself at home. This house is also yours from now on.”

“Thanks.”, his voice came out small and a bit unsteady, not knowing how to respond to gentle words once again. He blamed the lack of custom for that.

“Where’s Michael?”, Max asked to his wife, making Ash feel relieved for not being the focus of the conversation, even only for a brief moment.

“He went to John's house, but he must be back soon. I told him to come back early to welcome Ash.”, and, once again, the eyes of both were on the boy. Although their gazes were affable, Ash wished he wasn’t their target. “You must be exhausted from the trip, aren’t you?”, the boy nodded, but the truth was he didn’t feel so tired; he just wanted to have an excuse to have a few moments alone. “Why don’t you take a nap before dinner? Max will show you to your room.”

“I was about to do that.”, the man took Ash's suitcase one more time, heading for the back of the house. “This way.”

The former guest room, now Ash's room, was behind the last door in the narrow hallway at the side of the stairs, near to the first-floor bathroom and what appeared to be Max's office. The room was small and square like a box, containing only a single bed, a four-drawer chiffonier with a round mirror on top and a small desk in front of the window, with a view of the backyard. Ash could see through the butter-colored curtains the shiny of the sun reflecting on the surface of a small pool and a sort of shed in the end of the backyard.

“I know it's not that big, but... I hope you feel comfortable here.”, Ash could hear the silent apology in Max's voice. The man looked nervous, as if expecting a negative reaction from the boy.

Ash just shrugged, putting his backpack on the bed. “It's way better than a cupboard under the stairs.”

The boy didn't expect his silly attempt at making a joke would be effective, but it had Max letting out a good, loud laugh as result.

“Don’t worry, kiddo, the Glenreed family is more like the Weasley Family than the Dursleys.”, he assured him, forgetting for a moment about Ash’s issues of being touched and patting him on the back, making the boy shrink as an automatic response. “Oh, sorry!”, the man quickly pulled his hands away from him, a guilty expression on his face.

Ash shook his head, dismissing the apology. “So, can I have my own owl?”, the boy allowed a small, playful smile to reach his lips.

“If you’re talking about the plush ones, you can have as many as you want!”, Max laughed again, but more restrainedly this time, visibly watching himself out. Keeping a smile on his face, he pointed around the room and then to the boy in front of him, while he let out some more of his unending warm words: “This is _your_ room, Ash. You can decorate it the way you want. If you want it, I can take you to the nearby town on the weekend to buy something to make this place look more like yours. They have a good furniture and decoration store there."

“This room is great.”, Ash affirmed and he was being honest. It had been a long time since the boy had stopped care about material things; a plain room like that was all what he could wanted. 

Max's smile lingered on his face for a few seconds longer, before it start to fade away, making his lips taking the shape of a thin, stiff line. It was so weird to see him wearing such a serious expression that Ash couldn’t avoid the feeling of uneasiness that struck him as he faced it.

“If you want or need something, _anything_ , please, don’t hesitate to tell us.”, both the face and tone of the man transmitted a mixture of concern and a hard determination - the same determination Ash had seen on his face the day he had declared that he was taking the boy's custody. “You’re part of this family now. Please, never forget it.”

Trying to swallow the hard lump that had formed into his throat, Ash just nodded, not trusting his own voice. Actually, he couldn’t trust any of the many feelings that were swirling inside his chest at that moment, seeming to be trying to force an exit out of the boy's body through his eyes. But he couldn’t let them out, not after he had promised not to shed any more tears for himself.

“Well…”, Max started to say as slowly as his expression started to softened again and the corner of his lips started to give life to a new smile. “I'll let you rest for a bit. The trip was long and, well, I’d like to rest a bit before dinner too.”

Making some effort, Ash managed to find some stability to his voice, at least enough to say a few words:

“See you later.”, and before Max closed the door, he added: “Thank you again. For everything.”

The man smiled the kindest smile to the boy. “No problem, kiddo.”, and then, he disappeared behind the closed door, but the feeling of welcomeness in his voice continued to hover in the air for a few more seconds.

Ash took a deep breath.

So, that was the begging of his new life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy chapter two!
> 
> P.S.: I wanna dedicate this chapter to my sister, Nanao_chan. Happy Birthday!

Eiji felt very tempted to throw his phone to the other side of his small apartment when the alarm started to ring. But, even only half conscious, his mind was awake enough to remind him how much it would cost him a new one - a little too much for his college student wallet. Contending himself to just turn the alarm off, the boy came back to bury his face into his soft pillow, promising to never staying up so late at night reading again - a promise he knew he would never accomplish. 

Allowing himself to have a few more minutes of laziness, Eiji stretched out his body on the bed, letting the timid sunbeams, that were coming through the curtains, warm his face pleasantly. The boy didn’t have so much to do that day; he just needed to start his shift a bit earlier in the café that afternoon, to help his uncle to reorganize the storage, but his whole morning was completely free for him to start a new book or watch the show that his best friend, Shorter, had recommended to him. While Eiji tried to decide what to do before leaving the bed, he let the sounds of the already busy store downstairs reach his ears, indicating the true beginning of a new day. 

After going to brush his teeth, Eiji headed into the kitchen to prepare his breakfast: a cup of hot green tea and the last chocolate donut in the package - an unexpected match of flavors from both cultures, but a very welcomed one. The boy loved how the bitterness of the green tea balanced the too sugared taste of the American sweet. Accompanied by his breakfast, Eiji came back to his bed, taking the opportunity to grab his laptop in the “living room” – two old, but pretty armchairs he had positioned in the free space between the kitchen and his bedroom, trying to make it look like his tiny apartment wasn’t _that_ tiny. The boy ended up deciding to find out if the show that Shorter had insisted so much for him to watch was as good as his friend claimed it to be. 

**

The show ended up being so gripping that Eiji completely lost his track of time. He dived so deep into the story, getting so involved by all the small mysteries that led to a bigger and exciting one, the interesting characters, the unique atmosphere of the world where the story was settled… and when he realized, the morning had almost reached its end, dragging him back from the fictional world to the real one. The clock ticked just over eleven o'clock when he turned his laptop off, making a mental note to thank Shorter for suggesting him that amazing show later, right before starting to get ready for his chores of the day - being the first one, preparing the lunch for him and his uncle. The boy couldn’t help but let a resigned sigh get out of his chest for not be able to finish the first season of the show that morning, while he locked his door and headed for his uncle's apartment, right beside his own. 

The kitchen of Eiji's apartment was enough for the small meals he prepared to himself; but when it came to larger or more elaborate meals, the boy borrowed his uncle's kitchen, as was the case that day. Ibe's apartment was more than twice the size of Eiji's, with well-divided rooms and three bedrooms. When he moved to America to help his uncle during his recovery from cancer, about two years ago, Eiji had shared the apartment with Ibe for little more than eight months, but he had never felt comfortable with it; the boy couldn’t stop thinking that he was somehow invading his uncle's privacy. Then, as soon as the man was completely healed and recovered from the treatment, Eiji voiced his wish to rent the empty efficiency apartment. Uncle and nephew had some discussions on the subject; Ibe didn’t want to accept that his nephew would _pay_ to live there, but the stubborn boy insisted on doing it, after all, he didn’t think it was fair to stay in the apartment as a favor. The uncle still tried to make him change his mind, but soon he found out that when Eiji puts something in his mind it was easier to just accept the defeat. Still, Ibe had made it clear to him that his house would always be Eiji's as well - which has been proved to be very convenient for the boy, like at moments like that.

Wasting no time, Eiji took all the ingredients he would need to prepare the lunch: rice, two pieces of fish, some vegetables and spices. The boy was better at preparing sweets dishes, but there was nothing to complain about his savory meals; he always seemed to know the right spice and the right amount of it to enhance the taste of each food - unlike his uncle, who always seemed to use either too much or too little spice. A little over half an hour later, Eiji was already serving the food in the _obentou_ boxes and as soon as he finished cleaning the kitchen, the boy grabbed both _obentou_ and started walking to downstairs to the first floor where the Banana Fish café was running full blast.

The boy hesitated for a moment in front of the door that separated the silent residential part of the build from the hectic commercial one. At this point, he was supposed to be used to deal with lots of people, once he has been working at the store for almost two years, having to interact with the costumers everyday during long hours of his day, but… the truth was that he still feeling like he hadn’t improved so much when it comes to his social skills. Eiji still feeling that annoying uneasiness in his stomach every time when he was about to start a new shift, every time when he needed to smile and exchange a few words with a stranger, every time when he needed to step outside that door in front of him. 

Taking a deep breath, Eiji opened the door and gave his first step to beyond his small, silent world.

**

Eiji found his uncle in the staff room, but he wasn’t alone; Ibe was talking with Max, his business partner and best friend. A smile automatically came up to the boy’s lips, only to falter a moment later, making his heart ache a little bit.

Since Eiji had met his uncle’s best friend, he had never seen the man without a gentle smile on his face, but… the only thing that seemed to adorn his face since the month before was a deep expression of concern and exhaustion, darkening his kind eyes and making the tips of his lips - so used to be turned upwards - point to the ground. The loss of his younger sister had really messed with Max and, no matter how much the boy wanted to help him, he couldn’t thinking about anything to do. The feeling of impotence made Eiji’s chest even heavier.

“Hello, Eiji!”, Max greeted him with a broad smile, but that wasn’t enough to erase the marks that the tiredness had left on his face.

“Good afternoon.”, the boy returned the smile kindly, approaching the two older men and taking a sit next to his uncle. “How are you doing?”

Max visibly suppressed a sigh. “I won’t lie to you… it’s been a tough time, but…”, a small, but sincere smile took shape on the man’s lips. “I’m gonna be fine. I’m feeling like things are finally starting to settle down.” And with a glow of fun flicking into his eyes, he added: “I’m even missing working! I can’t wait for the end of these _vacations_!”, If Eiji wasn’t mistaken, the Head Chef of the Banana Fish café still had another week before returning to work, after taking a couple of weeks off to handle with all the things related to the passing of his sister and brother-in-law, besides the custody of their son.

“And how’s your…”, the boy hesitated for a moment, uncertain about the proper word to use in that case. For someone who used to have a very poor knowledge of the English language when he arrived in North America lands, Eiji had improved a lot during his time living there - but it didn’t mean that the Japanese boy had stopped to struggle with the language sometimes.“… _stepnephew_ going? Does this word even exist?”

Max burst out laughing at the last question of his best friend’s nephew for a moment, right before his smiling face melted back to his tired expression.

“Well… it’s really hard to tell how Ash is actually feeling… He seems to be pretty good at cover his emotions with some layers of indifference and self-confidence, as if he doesn’t care so much about what’s happening around him because he knows he would be fine no matter what. As if he thinks he can deal with everything all alone. And that’s what worries me the most.”, each word that came out from Max’s mouth seemed to put more weight over his shoulder instead of relieving it. 

Eiji knew near to nothing about the Chef’s nephew. Ibe didn’t want to go into too much details, but he had told him once that unfortunate events seemed to chase the boy along all his life since he was a child, including the loss of his parents around a month before. It broke Eiji's heart to hear that someone so young has had already to face so much in life.

“The only thing I’m sure about Ash…”, Max continued. “… is that he's not very excited about the idea of living in a small town like this one, but…”, his concerned expression started, little by little, giving way to a fragile smile with a hint of hope on it. “But he’s getting along very well with Michael. Those two got attached to each other the moment they met, like they had adopted the other as a brother or something like that instantly.”, and with the softer expression Eiji had seen on his face for the past month, he added: “The only times Ash seems to be himself is when he's with Michael. That's a good sign, isn’t it?”

It was Eiji's turn to allow a smile to reach his lips. The little Michael was a very special child, so it didn't surprise him that the other boy got attached to him so easily; it was hard not to have a soft spot for that sweet kid.

“You should invite him to come here.”, Ibe suggested, tapping his fingers lightly on the lid of the _obentou_ box. He seemed eager to devour his lunch, but he didn’t want to be rude. “I'm sure he will not resist to our delicious sweets. They are… _irresistible_!”

Max smiled at his friend gratefully. “Thank you, Shunichi. I’ll talk about it with him later. But, now…”, he began to stand up calmly, resting one hand on the back of the chair. “Now, I'm going to let you two have your lunch in peace.”

Ibe tried to persuade Max to stay a little longer, but his friend declined the invitation, affirming that he had promised his wife to help her with some things at home, but he promised to return to visit them before his kind-of vacation was over - and that he would bring his nephew next time.

“I've never seen Max so down before…”, lamented Ibe, chewing his lunch in a melancholic way. He must have been really worried about his friend not to be excited about the delicious food his nephew had prepared for them. “I hope things get better for him soon.”

“Me too. Seeing him like this makes me feel so sad.”, Eiji agreed, poking his piece of fish absently with the hashi. “But I'm sure everything will be fine sooner than we expect!”, the boy smiled at his uncle with confidence, making the man smile too.

The Glenreeds had always been so kind to Eiji, making him feel comfortable around them, almost as if he were part of the family. No matter what they were going through, the boy was sure they would get over that much in no time. They were good and kind people... Eiji could bet it wouldn’t take so long for even that new member of the family to feel welcomed by them.

The boy couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person Max’s nephew was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters One & Two are more introductory chapters... I think we can say that the story truly begin in the next chapter. I'll try to post it soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for taking such a long time to post a new chapter, but, tbh, I'm not having my best time, so it's been really hard to have focus enough to write/edit. I hope I'll be able to post the next chapter in a very near future.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)
> 
> P.S.: Tbh, I'm not sure about the quality of this chapter... I probably made more mistakes than the usual. *sigh*

Ash had been awake for a few hours, but he had made no effort to leave his bed; the boy couldn’t let behind the habit he had acquired in the last years of sleeping only a few hours a night. Still, he didn’t feel tired at all. Since he had arrived at the Glenreeds' home, four days ago, Ash had had the best nights of sleep in a long time; he still had difficulty falling asleep, but when the unconsciousness finally hit him, the boy slept a heavy and dreamless sleep until the next morning. Ash knew that his frequent nightmares hadn’t magically disappeared, but he was grateful for having a break from them.

When the clock on his phone screen displayed nine in the morning, Ash finally decided to get out of bed, grabbing some clothes on the floor on his way to the door. It was too hot to sleep with anything on beside a pair of underwear, but he would never think of step out of his room without being properly dressed - even though the bathroom was just next door. After a quick shower and brushing his teeth, the boy headed for the kitchen where he was greeted by the smell of freshly made pancakes and the clatter of silverware scraping the bottom of a plate with enthusiasm.

“Good morning, Ash.”, Jessica greeted the boy as she served some more warm pancakes on a large plate in the center of the table. “Better you serve yourself quick, before a _certain_ pancake-eater monster eats everything, even the crumbs.”

“I’m the pancake-eater monster!”, Michael cheerfully excitedly with his mouth still full of his breakfast. Ash couldn’t help but smile.

“I can see that.”, with a smile still on his face, the boy sat in front of the kid. “But could this voracious monster leave a pancake or two for a poor hungry boy?”, Ash held his empty plate toward the younger boy, wearing his best mooch face.

Michael laughed loudly.

“Of course!”, he exclaimed, before serving the older boy three of the biggest pancakes on the plate. “And take some Maple syrup, too! Pancakes always get even more delicious with it!”, the kid recommended, handing the bottle to him.

“Oh, thank you! You're a very kind monster!”, Ash’s smile grew wider, drowning his breakfast in syrup, as suggested.

“You two should put some fruit in the middle of this molasses.”, Jessica scrunched her nose in disapproval, staring at pool of maple syrup that both boys had on their plates. “Some blueberries or pieces of strawberry are not gonna kill you, do you two know it? But _this_ …”, she pointed from one plate to the other. “ _This_ certainly will.”

Michael reached for one of the small bowls next to the pancake plate and picked up a single blueberry, placing it on top of his stack of half-eaten pancakes. 

“Done!”, he stated, trying but failing to stifle his laughter. Ash also had no success trying to do the same, stopping to laugh only under Jessica's deadly gaze.

“Very funny, little lad.”, she said without any humor to her son, just before turning her eyes back to the other boy. “And _you_ … you should try to give Michael a better example. You're the big brother here now, be more aware about that.” Ash felt any word he could say at that moment getting stuck in his throat.

_Big brother_. These words echoed over and over again inside the boy's head. Ash couldn’t deny that he felt an instantaneous connection with the young boy from the moment they met and he could tell that it was mutual, with Michael wasting no time in grabbing the older boy's hand and dragging him to play his favorite video game with him. Since then, when Michael was not out, playing at a friend's house, they spent most of their time together doing things like playing video games, watching cartoons on TV or trying to play baseball in the backyard - thing in which both were terrible at. But... Ash had never thought he could be to that kid what Griffin had been to him. The ‘big brother’ position seemed to bring so much responsibility along with it… 

_If I could be to Michael half of the wonderful brother Griffin was to me..._ , Ash wished with all his heart to be able to do that, while he watched Michael finishing to eat his breakfast, with tenderness in his eyes. When he realized, he was dropping some strawberry on his own stack of pancakes.

Max joined the rest of the family shortly after Jessica served the last round of pancakes, mumbling a sleepy "'morning" and going to sit next to his son, aiming the breakfast. Ash still felt odd about sharing the table with the Glenreeds, and it wasn’t just for still feeling dislocated in the middle of that family; it had been a long time since he had shared a meal with so many people. The last time, as far as he could remember, it was just before…

“Ready to get to know the neighboring city?”, Max's question pulled the boy out of his thoughts at the right time. Ash didn’t want to sink into painful memories so early on a Saturday morning. “I bet you'll like there more than here!”, the man laughed, but his laughter was a little weird, as if he tried to hide his nervousness. 

Max seemed always being afraid of his stepnephew's reactions, as if the boy could get tired of his new life with the Glenreed family and decide to disappear from their sight. It wasn’t like such thing hadn’t come to Ash’s mind before his arrival to Greenriver, but… what could he have done? Go back to the streets and revive the most terrible years of his life? Besides, after the boy had met the members of that family, he would never be able to do anything that could upset them.

Ash shrugged, imaging that he was also shaking the inconvenient feelings off with the movement of his shoulders. “You said that this city has the only cinema in many miles. That’s already my favorite place in the world.”, and it wasn’t a lie.

Ash had not left the Glenreed house since his arrival. He had to admit to himself that he was a little curious about the city he should call his home now and how little it had to offer to him, but he was still lacking of motivation to take the first steps out of the house. Well, sooner or later he would have to venture through the boring streets of Greenriver. 

“I just need stop at the café quickly before we go, I have some papers to hand to Shunichi.”, Max told Ash with an apologetic look. “I promise I won't be long there.”

“No problem.”, the boy shrugged again, shoving the last piece of his pancake into his mouth. Actually, Ash wasn't very much excited to get to know the nearby city; his stepuncle had insisted on taking him to the a furniture and decoration store he had told before to buy something cool to decorate the boy’s room, even Ash saying that he liked the room the way it was. Max couldn’t stop to talk about how a teenager should put a personal touch on his own room and Jessica had agreed with him, cornering their stepnephew. The boy didn't want the Glenreeds to spend money on things for him, but since they were so concerned about it, Ash was determined to choose something cheap and reasonably pretty to please them.

At least he could take that opportunity to stretch his legs a little bit after so many days cooped up in that house – even it being for his own fault.

**

“I think I need a new binder.”, Shorter sighed, wriggling uncomfortably on the other side of the pass, while Eiji laid some dirty dishes over it.

“Again?”, the boy couldn't help but exclaiming; he had heard his friend say those same words a few months ago. 

A smile of sheer enjoyment appeared on the other boy's face.

“Yeah, again. The basketball trainings and all the workouts are doing a great job!”, he flexed his biceps to illustrate his words, displaying his new, well-defined muscles. “Ya boy is getting more and more muscular. Not only the binder, but also my clothes are getting too tighter. Soon I'll have to buy a new closet!”, Shorter laughed, his eyes glittering with self-pride. But, a moment later, the boy’s smile slowly crumbled as he realized what that also meant. “New binder, new clothes… my wallet getting even emptier.”, a sigh of lamentation escaped his thin lips.

“Don’t be like that.”, Eiji patted his friend's arm in solidarity. “It is worth it, isn't it?”

A small, but full of satisfaction smile came up to Shorter's lips, making his eyes shine once more. “You can bet it is!”, the happiness on his friend's face made Eiji smile too.

“Shorter!”, the two boys could hear Ibe's voice calling from the back of the kitchen. “Leave the conversation for later, it's time to work!”

Eiji and Shorter looked at each other, trying to hide their laughter. With a silent nod, the older boy picked up the dishes from over the pass and went on his way to the kitchen sink, while the youngest returned to his place at the counter, waiting for new customers to come through the door.

For a Saturday, the store was strangely empty, even more with the approaching of the lunchtime. Eiji was getting a little uneasy with the lack of movement, feeling bored. The boy had to make a huge effort not to start tapping his foot on the floor impatiently, after more than fifteen minutes standing in the same position, without having anything to do; the lack of mobility didn’t do any good for his anxiety. The boy allowed a single sigh to come to his mouth, trying to take some of his frustration out of his body.

When he was about to look for something, _anything_ , to do in the café, the front door of the store finally opened, making the small bell upon it ring. But it wasn’t a customer. Max strode into the café carrying a brown envelope in his hands, making it clear that he was there not for a pleasant visit, but it didn't take his friendly smile off his face as he walked toward the boy. Eiji realized a moment later that he wasn’t alone; a tall boy about his age followed the man a few steps away, checking out the place with curious eyes – Max’s nephew, he guessed. 

The boy was handsome, to say the least. His fair skin and well-defined features made it looks like his face had been carved in marble, a piece of art coming straight from the aisles of a museum. The sunlight coming through the large windows of the store made it sure to light up his thick, golden hair, making it shine like a summer day, and also throwing tiny sparkles of light over his eyes. _Oh, boy, his eyes_. 

Eiji forgot how to breathe the moment those deep, intense green eyes meet his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still not satisfied with my description of Ash... I don't know if I made him justice or if I made it too cheesy, but I'm sure about one thing: Ash Lynx _is_ a piece of art.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still here. I'm still posting this fic. Please, don't give up on me.

When Eiji realized, his fingers were hovering over his pocket, itching to pick his phone and take a picture of those stunning eyes. The boy loved to capture and eternalize beautiful images through the lens of his camera: astonishing landscapes, all the different colors and shapes that the sky was able to take, scenes that brought peace to the heart like a sleeping kitten or families enjoying a sunny day in the park… But he had never felt such an intense urge to photograph a human being before. A feeling of curiosity took over Eiji, making him wonder about what could be hiding behind those unbelievable green eyes – they seemed to be able to fit a whole world inside them.

_Stop being weird_ , the boy scolded himself, trying to get his thoughts in order. _Maybe I should avoid reading romance novels for a while._

“Eiji, I want you to meet my nephew Ash!”, Max introduced the blond boy with enthusiasm, but Eiji could notice that an uneasy feeling flickered into the man’s eyes for the briefest second. “Ash, this is Eiji, the nephew of my friend and partner Shunichi!”

“Nice to meet you.”, Eiji bowed his head slightly, feeling a small shiver go through his body as he had those jade-colored eyes upon him once again. “I’m Eiji Okumura.” 

The tall boy opened the most discreet of the smiles.

“Aslan Callenreese.”, his voice was clear and firm, the kind that doesn’t need to demand attention to obtain it. A pleasant voice, Eiji thought. “But you can call me Ash.”

_Aslan_. Eiji’s mind suddenly presented him with the image of the boy in front of him wearing an astonishing golden mane and a pair of cat whiskers, like the lion from that famous book. He had to make an extraordinary effort not to let the laughter that was born inside his chest escape through his lips. _I'm_ begging _you! Stop being weird!_

“Where’s Shunichi?”, Max asked to the boy, distracting him from his… peculiar thoughts. “I have some documents to hand to him.”

“My uncle must already be in his break.”, Eiji said, checking the time on his watch. Shorter sometimes picked on him for using such an ‘outdated’ thing like that, when he could simply use the watch on his cellphone screen. “But I'm sure he won’t mind talking to you right now.”

The man scratched the back of his head, feeling slightly embarrassed. It was clear that he didn't want to disturb the moment of resting from his friend, but it seemed like another compromise was waiting for him soon after. 

“I'll be back in a minute, Ash.”, Max promised, with a silent apology in his voice. “Why don’t you sit down a little? I swear it would not take too long.”

But Eiji knew that this meeting would actually take a long time. He felt sorry for the other boy.

**

Ash had to admit to himself: the café wasn’t bad at all. Both its facade and its interior might have seemed simple at first, but actually, it was a rather elegant shop with its beautiful furniture, made of a glossy mahogany and soft cushions with floral print. Small, but remarkable crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, filling the place with the colors of the rainbow when the sun hit them at the right angle, while delicate flower arrangements scattered throughout the store mingled their sweet scent with the aroma of coffee, forming an unexpected but pleasant combination. Besides, of course, the counter, displaying the most diverse sorts of sweets carefully decorated not only to feed the stomach but also the eyes of the customers. Everything seemed meticulously planned to make the café an attractive and cozy place; even the cute waiter seemed to be there just to add a bit more of softness and grace to the shop. The only thing that didn’t seem to match that attractive atmosphere was its name.

_Banana Fish Café_ , Ash found it incomprehensible that a place like that had such a terrible, nonsensical name. _What was the owner of this place thinking about when he chose this awful name?_

His stepmother would have loved that. She loved this sort of random thing, and, especially, loved trying to find some kind of logic for it; she would have, at least, three theories about the name of that place, the boy could bet, one crazier than the others. She would have dumped them all on the boy and his father, trying to make them laugh, while one or two more theories came up to her mind. Ash would give anything to hear, at least, one of them.

_Don’t think about that… don’t think about that… don’t…_

Ash almost jumped out of his skin when a plate containing a slice of some dessert seemed to come up of nowhere in front of him.

“I brought you something to distract yourself while you wait for Max.”, the cute waiter from before - Eiji, wasn't it? - was smiling gently at the boy as he set down a cup of coffee near to the plate. Looking closer, Ash could notice, his eyes were brown and sweet like melted chocolate. “A slice of our famous Tiramisù and a cup of classic espresso. I hope you enjoy it.”

Ash looked at the boy, stunned. That was weird… One of the first things he had learned on the streets was never to let his guard down, no matter where or when; and he had been practicing this lesson ever since, even in the few moments of peace and security he had had. Even so… he had not noticed the waiter's approach until the last moment - an unprecedented fact. Had he been so distracted to the point of lowering his guard that much, or was the other boy some kind of ninja?

The boy noticed that he must have been staring at the waiter for more time than he had thought, because his smile had begun to falter at the same time that his cheeks turned slightly pink.

“Don’t you like coffee? Or tiramisù?”, the boy's voice trembled slightly as his face blushed a little more. “I can bring something else for you.”

“No, no, sorry!”, Ash hastened to say, feeling a little stupid and guilty for making the other boy feel awkward. “It’s just that…”, that was Ash's turn to blush. “I didn’t bring any money with me…”

The expression on the cute waiter's face softened as a chuckle made his shoulders shake, hiding his face behind the tray for a brief moment in an attempt to cover his laugher up. Ash felt his face grow even redder, but for another reason.

“Do not worry about it, it's on the house.”, the boy assured him, with a soft smile still on his lips. “You're part of Max's family. Please, make yourself at home here.”

_Part of Max’s family._ That was, technically, true, but it still sounded strange to Ash's ears. He still felt like an intruder in the Glenreed family. Ash tried to sweep those thoughts into the back of his mind.

“Thanks. I like both coffee and tiramisù.”, and he was being honest, even though he'd tried the last one only once in his life, years and years ago. “But… Wasn't this meeting supposed to be something quick?”

The other boy looked at him as if he were a naive child about to be told that Santa doesn’t exist. 

“When they say a meeting is going to be 'quick', it means that it will take, at least, an hour.”, he sighed ruefully and Ash knew immediately that the boy had been a victim of that same empty promise in the past. “Anyway…”, the raven-haired boy smiled once again. “If you want something else, just call me.”

Ash couldn’t help but follow the other boy with his eyes as he walked away, back to the counter. Going out that day suddenly didn't seem like something that bad.

Half distracted, the boy cut the soft tiramisù slice with his fork, bringing the piece to his mouth. The sweet tasted like heaven.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter? Only a few weeks after the last one? It must be a miracle!

“Do you wanna work at the café?”, Max echoed his nephew’s words, caught by surprise by the boy's attitude. His fork got forgotten halfway to his mouth.

That idea had popped into Ash's mind that morning while he was eating the last bit of his tiramisù. At first, that idea as a simple rambling, but it grew bigger and solidified inside him, becoming a resolution. He saw no cons, only pros about it: he not only would be spending his time on something productive, but he also would earn his own money, which, even if a little bit, would help take some of the weight off Max and Jessica's back. Ash was still feeling uncomfortable with the thought of the two of them spending money on him without him being able to return, at least, a small part of it; the boy would be able to afford some of his expenses and even starting to save some money to the yet unknown future ahead. 

“It can be any job. I've never worked in a café or something like that before, but I learn _very_ fast.”, Ash assured him. And he wasn’t exaggerating it; the boy was a really fast learner once he proposed himself to learn something, no matter what it was. He knew he would have no problems no matter what the job it could be. “I just want to do something useful to occupy my time.”

Max finally set his half-forgotten fork on his plate, a thoughtful expression on his face. It was easy to tell by the wrinkles of worry that seemed to deepen in the corners of his eyes that the man wasn't completely satisfied with it, but he was trying to understand his nephew's side. 

“I'm really happy to see you interested in doing something like getting a job, but…”, he let out a small sigh, as if trying to suppress a sense of impending defeat. “I still would prefer you chose to go back to school instead of getting a job. You know you're smart as fuck, and I don't want to see you wasting that intelligence.”

“Language, Max!”, Jessica exclaimed in a censorious tone, nodding toward her son, who was eating his spaghetti completely amused by that conversation, as if watching an fascinating TV show.

“Sorry, honey.”, he apologized, taking the fork again and finally taking it to its fate into his mouth in an absent-minded way. 

Ash lowered his eyes to his plate, poking his spaghetti with his fork, thoughtfully. Since the beginning, Max had been insisting that the boy should go back to school, but he still felt uncertain about it. 

Ash had never stopped studying, but he hadn't set a foot on school since he was thirteen and only the thought of doing it was enough to terrify him. He had been educated himself through the countless books he had read in the Public Library, where he had spent most of his time since his life on the streets had begun, so many years ago, learning about everything and more. Books had always been his best friends. He knew that understanding the classes wouldn't be a problem for him; actually, the boy suspected that he was way more advanced in his studies than the level of a regular high school student - his concern laid in other places.

How would he be able to manage an ordinary high schooler life after all he had been through in the last years? Would that even be possible? Ash feared it wouldn't. He felt too distant from an ordinary boy of his age; he could bet that the majority of people from his age couldn't even imagine the things he had experienced. He would never fit in.

“But…”, the boy insisted, turning his eyes back to his uncle. “But even if I, by any chance, decide to go back to school, that wouldn't stop me from working part-time somewhere. Look at your friend's nephew, for example. He’s what? A freshman high schooler?”

Max looked confused for a moment. “Are you talking about Eiji?”, Ash nodded and the man couldn’t suppress a soft laugh. “Eiji’s nineteen years old.”

“ _No fucking way!_ ”, the boy exclaimed in disbelieve. His uncle must being kidding. 

“Ash, _language_!”, Jessica scolded him, exasperated, for the second time in only a few minutes. Michael let out a muffled laugh, hiding his face in his glass, trying to disguise it. 

“My bad…”, Ash apologized to her, lowering his head a little bit to show some regret, just to wink to Michael a moment later, without being discreet at all. Jessica rolled her eyes, while the boy turned to her husband again, back to his tone of disbelief. “There’s no way that guy is older than me!”

“Believe me, he is.”, Max affirmed, making no effort to hide the amusement of seeing his nephew so shocked by something so silly. “He's going to start his second year in college this year as a Literature major student.”

“He looks like fifteen… maybe even younger!.”, his height, his pretty and delicate features, his big chocolate-colored eyes… How could anyone expect Ash to believe that the boy was already an adult?

“Don’t say it in front of him if you enjoy being alive.”, the man warned him, trying to look serious, but failing miserably. The corners of his lips struggling not to turn up denounced his enjoyment. “He has a _serious_ complex for looking younger than he already is.”

“So… he must suffer a lot.”, Ash couldn’t imagine anyone looking at that boy and not thinking of him as a young teenager instead of someone almost in his twenties. “Anyway…”, he tried to shake that subject off of his head and focus on what really mattered, back to the reason why he started to talk about the cute waiter. “He still being a good example of how reconciling work and study is not a big deal.”

Max still didn’t seem completely convinced by the boy; his eyes moved toward his wife, in a silent plea for help. When Ash's look followed the man’s ones a moment later, his aunt's eyes were already on him, accompanied by a smile as gentle as her gaze. 

“Ash…”, she started slowly, holding out a hand over the table and placing it carefully beside the boy's one, without actually touching him. “I agree with Max that your priority at this moment should be your studies. Although…”, her smile gradually grew, bringing a warm glow of comprehension and understanding to her ocean-colored eyes. “I'm sure you're completely capable of dealing with both of them with no problem. If this is what you want.”

Ash allowed himself to smile, a smile that said all the words of gratitude that were stuck into his throat, too cluttered to be voiced loud and clear - which, the boy realized, was unnecessary, once that her eyes showed that his silent words had reached her.

The boy turned his eyes to his uncle again, finding him staring at them with the softest of the smiles on his lips. Ash could see a tiny shadow of defeat pass through his eyes for a brief moment, but... the man seemed, somehow, happy to be defeated.

“So… I think there’s no other choice.”, Max sighed deeply, but without letting his smile falter, not for a single moment, as if he had it carved on his face. “I need to talk to Shunichi first, though. But knowing him as I do, I'm one hundred percent sure that he will agree. I bet he'll be excited to have you working in the café.”

“Thank you.”, the boy's voice came out a little lower than he intended, but the sincere gratitude carried in it was heard loudly by the Glenreed couple, reaching them far beyond their ears.

“That’s so cool!”, Michael exclaimed excitedly. “Now you can bring me some sweets from there!”, the kid's big, rounded blue eyes shone as brightly as his smile at that great opportunity to fill his belly with some delicious and sugary snack. “My favorite is the chocolate hazelnut cake, don’t forget that!”

“But I always bring a piece of cake to you every week!”, Max reminded his son, looking slightly offended.

A mischievous smile played on the young boy's lips. “But now it can be two slices of cake every week.”, he emphasized the word two by raising two of his fingers, delighting himself in the expectation of getting twice of his favorite sweet weekly dose. 

But his sugary dream didn’t take too long to be torn apart by his mother, who seemed not so happy with the situation.

“Not until you start eating your vegetables properly.”, Jessica stated, in such a tone that left no room for arguing. Her word was law and no one sitting at that table was brave - or dumb - enough to challenge her. Not in front of her, at least; Ash thought it wouldn't be a problem to smuggle an extra slice of the cake Michael loved that much once in a while. 

After dinner, Ash came back to his room, letting his body fall heavily on his bed, filling his lungs slowly and deeply with the cool night air, concentrating for a few seconds solely on his breath, on the rise and fall of his chest, keeping his eyes closed. A wave of relief washed his chest and spread all over his body, taking away some of the weight of his overloaded feelings, lighten the tension in his shoulders. When his eyes opened again, they were drawn to his newest acquisitions, next to his desk: a black small bookshelf, still with no book on it, and two sets of bedding, a blue one and a red one, which formed a pleasing combination to the eyes, over the bookshelf - the most the boy allowed Max to spend money on him. A tiny smile touched his lips at the thought that soon he would be able to repay, even just a bit, Max and Jessica for all they were doing for him. A shadow of hope seemed to appear somewhere deep in the boy's chest, lurking slowly through the corners, threatening to take control of his heart. 

Ash let that small, pale hope give a few steps forward.

**

Sitting on his bed right by the window, Eiji closed the book he held in his hands, absorbing the last words of the last page of the last book of the series. That was good. That was _really_ good. The boy couldn't have imagined a better ending to that fantastic series. But the thought that it had come to an end made a bittersweet feeling grow inside his chest; he could feel a small reading slump approaching him.

Petting the cover of the book with one hand, he let his gaze go through the window, getting lost in the beautiful night sky out there, still trying to settle down his feelings about the story he had just read. There was no moon that night, but the stars gleamed gently against the midnight sky, like particles of diamond dust in a black velvet cloak. Eiji wished he had a good quality camera to capture that beauty, but he had to conform himself with the medium quality of his cell phone, which would never make justice to that wonderful starry sky in front of his eyes. One day, for sure…

Eiji heard his phone vibrating on his bedside table, indicating that a new message had been received. Saying goodbye to the night scenery outside his window, the boy closed the curtains, leaving only a small gap opened, as always. Stretching out on the bed toward the bedside table, he reached for his phone, expecting to find a message from Shorter on the screen, but it wasn't the name of his best friend that was displaying there. His hands trembled as he saw the unnamed number, feeling a bitter taste coming up to his mouth; there was the number he had hoped never see again.

_No. Not again._


End file.
